eBay Powerseller Tips for Auction Selling Success
Selling on can be a fun and rewarding experience. Here are a few tips to help you make it so.
1. Research your product before listing it! Know as much as you possibly can about your item.
Use the completed as well as active searches to find out all the terms used to describe your product,
if people are buying it and about what they are paying. If you can't find anything like your item on eBay,
look for collector groups/forums.
2. Describe the item to the tiniest detail. Remember you are the eyes, ears, nose and fingers for
the potential buyer. Pictures don't always show everything. There might be an almost microscopic
nick on the bottom, but the buyer needs to know about it. Sometimes the item looks better or worse
than the picture. State that.
If it's glass or pottery or even fabric, it may have a distinctive sound that collectors look for.
Many people want to know if an item has a cigarette smell and always mention a musty odor or if it
smells good, tell 'em!
How does it feel? Dry or supple? Smooth or rough?
Give dimensions!
3. Take good, clear pictures and CROP THEM! How many times have you seen a huge picture that
takes several minutes to load and the item is a tiny dot in the center? Then there's the mystery fuzz.
The picture is just one big blur. And let's not forget items in the midst of a cluttered desk and
reflective items reflecting......ummm......rather unappealing parts of the picture taker's anatomy.
No pets. As hard as it is to believe, most people don't care to see your fur baby snuggled up to the
item they're thinking of buying. I have a very handsome cat and it is tempting, but I will not let him get
in the pictures. It could actually cause people who are allergic to cats not to bid.
4. Do try to use proper grammar. I don't mean stiff, literary grammar. Don't write as if your 12th
grade English teacher were grading your ad. That can be a turn off, too. Just try to avoid things like, "I
seen it" or "I done it" or "I learnt it" or "He learned me how to do this". We hear this type of misuse
every day and become accustomed to it, but it really looks bad on "paper". Do try for a friendly,
approachable tone. You want people to feel free to e-mail you if they have any questions. Then
again, some people prefer ads that are short and sweet. No fluff. Develop your own style. One that
you feel comfortable with.
5. Spell correctly. We all get a good laugh out of the typos like leaving the "r" out of shirt, but most
people won't find that auction if they're doing a search for a chartreuse and purple shirt. You'll get a lot
more hits if you spell "Homer Laughlin" instead of "Homer Laughlin" or if you type "candelabra"
instead of "candlelobber".
6. Avoid using L@@K and things like that in the title. I can't tell you how many times I've heard
people say that makes them run as fast as they can in the opposite direction. Use that valuable
space for a nice, descriptive term. Title space is precious. Don't junk it up.
7. Please don't make your terms longer than the item description. If there are too many terms,
many people won't bid for fear that they might do something wrong. I usually won't. It makes the
seller seem hard to deal with. I understand that many sellers feel forced to protect themselves
because of unscrupulous bidders/buyers. If you must put restrictions in your auction description, try
to keep them short and to the point and see which "rules" you can weed out.
8. Answer e-mails as promptly and politely as possible. Put yourself in the potential bidders shoes.
Sure, they might be asking a question that was well covered in your description, but if you make them
feel like a fool for asking, they're not likely to bid. They were probably so excited to find your auction for
the exact thing they've been looking for that in their excitement, overlooked the whole description. It
happens. Well, it does!
9. Give at least an estimated shipping amount. People like to know ahead of time you're not going
to gouge them. Yes, I know USPS went to the zone thing making it hard on us, but you can put in an
estimated weight and give a link to the USPS calculation tool.
10. Pack well! Pack well! Pack well!.......I can't say that enough. Check some of the eBay seller
boards and you'll see horror story after horror story about people receiving their item so poorly packed
it didn't stand a chance of getting from the postal counter to the back of the post office intact. Fragile
items should be wrapped two or even three times in bubble wrap, then cushioned in a box that is
cushion packed in a larger box. There are debates about what to use for cushioning. Some people
hate packing peanuts, some hate paper, but almost all hate newspaper. Personally, I prefer to pack
with packing peanuts, but if I'm out, I've found that slick, catalog and magazine pages make a good
substitute. Books, paper items and fabric should be placed in a sealed bag or wrapped in plastic
wrap to avoid getting wet.
Selling on can be a fun and rewarding experience. Here are a few tips to help you make it so.
1. Research your product before listing it! Know as much as you possibly can about your item.
Use the completed as well as active searches to find out all the terms used to describe your product,
if people are buying it and about what they are paying. If you can't find anything like your item on eBay,
look for collector groups/forums.
2. Describe the item to the tiniest detail. Remember you are the eyes, ears, nose and fingers for
the potential buyer. Pictures don't always show everything. There might be an almost microscopic
nick on the bottom, but the buyer needs to know about it. Sometimes the item looks better or worse
than the picture. State that.
If it's glass or pottery or even fabric, it may have a distinctive sound that collectors look for.
Many people want to know if an item has a cigarette smell and always mention a musty odor or if it
smells good, tell 'em!
How does it feel? Dry or supple? Smooth or rough?
Give dimensions!
3. Take good, clear pictures and CROP THEM! How many times have you seen a huge picture that
takes several minutes to load and the item is a tiny dot in the center? Then there's the mystery fuzz.
The picture is just one big blur. And let's not forget items in the midst of a cluttered desk and
reflective items reflecting......ummm......rather unappealing parts of the picture taker's anatomy.
No pets. As hard as it is to believe, most people don't care to see your fur baby snuggled up to the
item they're thinking of buying. I have a very handsome cat and it is tempting, but I will not let him get
in the pictures. It could actually cause people who are allergic to cats not to bid.
4. Do try to use proper grammar. I don't mean stiff, literary grammar. Don't write as if your 12th
grade English teacher were grading your ad. That can be a turn off, too. Just try to avoid things like, "I
seen it" or "I done it" or "I learnt it" or "He learned me how to do this". We hear this type of misuse
every day and become accustomed to it, but it really looks bad on "paper". Do try for a friendly,
approachable tone. You want people to feel free to e-mail you if they have any questions. Then
again, some people prefer ads that are short and sweet. No fluff. Develop your own style. One that
you feel comfortable with.
5. Spell correctly. We all get a good laugh out of the typos like leaving the "r" out of shirt, but most
people won't find that auction if they're doing a search for a chartreuse and purple shirt. You'll get a lot
more hits if you spell "Homer Laughlin" instead of "Homer Laughlin" or if you type "candelabra"
instead of "candlelobber".
6. Avoid using L@@K and things like that in the title. I can't tell you how many times I've heard
people say that makes them run as fast as they can in the opposite direction. Use that valuable
space for a nice, descriptive term. Title space is precious. Don't junk it up.
7. Please don't make your terms longer than the item description. If there are too many terms,
many people won't bid for fear that they might do something wrong. I usually won't. It makes the
seller seem hard to deal with. I understand that many sellers feel forced to protect themselves
because of unscrupulous bidders/buyers. If you must put restrictions in your auction description, try
to keep them short and to the point and see which "rules" you can weed out.
8. Answer e-mails as promptly and politely as possible. Put yourself in the potential bidders shoes.
Sure, they might be asking a question that was well covered in your description, but if you make them
feel like a fool for asking, they're not likely to bid. They were probably so excited to find your auction for
the exact thing they've been looking for that in their excitement, overlooked the whole description. It
happens. Well, it does!
9. Give at least an estimated shipping amount. People like to know ahead of time you're not going
to gouge them. Yes, I know USPS went to the zone thing making it hard on us, but you can put in an
estimated weight and give a link to the USPS calculation tool.
10. Pack well! Pack well! Pack well!.......I can't say that enough. Check some of the eBay seller
boards and you'll see horror story after horror story about people receiving their item so poorly packed
it didn't stand a chance of getting from the postal counter to the back of the post office intact. Fragile
items should be wrapped two or even three times in bubble wrap, then cushioned in a box that is
cushion packed in a larger box. There are debates about what to use for cushioning. Some people
hate packing peanuts, some hate paper, but almost all hate newspaper. Personally, I prefer to pack
with packing peanuts, but if I'm out, I've found that slick, catalog and magazine pages make a good
substitute. Books, paper items and fabric should be placed in a sealed bag or wrapped in plastic
wrap to avoid getting wet.
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